


The Gut Instinct

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Drama, Friendship, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2015-09-19
Packaged: 2018-04-21 11:55:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4828208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I scalded my tongue with hot ketchup once.  Munch laughed so hard milkshake came out of his nose.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Gut Instinct

“You didn’t have to do this you know.”

“Well I wasn’t going to let you come out here by yourself.”

“Let me?”

“That didn’t come out like I wanted it to.”

“I’ll give you the chance to rephrase, Counselor.”

“You shouldn’t have to work alone.” He said.

“I'm off the clock.” Olivia wiped the fog off the window. 

It was a cold, rainy night and it wasn’t all that easy to see but she was doing the best she could. Hopefully no one noticed the foggy car as they made their way down the street and out of this weather. It was an unauthorized stakeout but the longtime detective felt better going with her gut. The victim felt like she was in danger. The perpetrator was behind bars but he had many friends. If Olivia had to sit out there all night and look out then she would. It wouldn’t be the first time she had done so, on and off the clock.

“Still it’s dangerous. Working with a partner is better.”

“Should I deputize you?” she managed a smile as she glanced at the ADA.

“I'm eating greasy food out of a bag…I feel like a cop already.”

“Those are the best fries in town for the money. Not everything has to be served on china with gold plated forks.”

“I've never eaten with a gold plated fork in my life.”

“You're only in your 40s,” Olivia said. “There's still time.”

Barba rolled his eyes. He had no intention on telling her now that the waffle fries with Old Bay seasoning were actually really delicious. It might have had something to do with the fact that he was starving but who really knew. Today had been a long day at the office, most were. He should’ve probably still been at work but once Olivia announced she was going to be staking out alone, the ADA got his coat. 

Barba was still surprised she actually let him into her car. If she was going to be insistent then so was he. They could either bicker all night or get the job done. Except it wasn’t his job. His job was going undone at the moment.

“Have you ever eaten something so cold on a spoon that your tongue stuck to it for a moment?” he asked. “That happened to me once.”

“I hope it wasn’t last week.” Olivia was again wiping the window. She just decided to crack it. Getting rained on wasn’t fun, and neither was letting in the cold air, but there was no other way to combat it.

“I was nine; I screamed.” He left out of the part about his father slapping him across the face and telling him to not be such a little girl. No need to ruin a good story with the awful truth.

“I scalded my tongue with hot ketchup once. Munch laughed so hard milkshake came out of his nose.”

“What kind of milkshake was it?”

“I have no idea.” She laughed some. “Hey, if you're chilly you should wrap up in your scarf or something.”

“I'm good.”

“We could be out here a while.”

“Are you really going to sit out here all night?” Barba asked.

“I don't know. You can go home at any time, Counselor.”

“That’s not what I'm saying. I admire your resolve. What made you want to do this in the first place?”

“I told you…something in my gut won't settle.”

“I meant being a cop.”

“Why did you want to be a lawyer?” Olivia countered. 

Something in her almost spilled the truth, without even thinking about it. That scared her. It wasn’t that she didn’t tell people the truth but never strangers. Barba wasn’t a complete stranger, they were getting to know each other better. She liked him but that part of her story was closed off to nearly everyone. Olivia didn’t fear judgment or pity; some personal things should just remain personal.

“I was trying to find the perfect balance of being one of the good guys and also being rich. Unfortunately the job of Iron Man had already been filled.”

“No one gets rich working in the DA’s office.” She said.

“My plan is not without flaws. It was only after I got into the law that I remembered why so many people loathe lawyers, including myself on many occasions.”

“Well if you could do anything else, what would it be?”

“I would teach I think.” Rafael replied. “I actually still hope to do that one day. The theory of law, like so many other subjects, can be more fascinating than its actual practice. You never answered my question.”

“I know.”

They were silent for a while. Rafael didn’t plan to push, he didn’t want to invade Olivia’s personal life. It seemed like such a simple question but he knew from experience that hardly anything was. He'd known many people in his time who were dedicated to what they did. It wasn’t the job Olivia Benson was dedicated to, it was the victims. 

Could that be because she was full of integrity and zeal? Absolutely. It could also be because something horrible happened to her and she never got justice. Rafael knew people like that as well. Most burned out within five years. Olivia was on her fifteenth.

“My mother was the victim of a crime.” She looked at the goings on out the window when she spoke. “I watched it destroy her and decided I wouldn’t let that happen to someone else’s mother or someone else’s child if I could help it. SVU was like a no man’s land at one time…no cop seemed to want to be there. I wanted to change that. I wanted to change the stigma that surrounds sex crimes and victims.”

“The snarky side of me wants to say how very Joan of Arc of you.” He said.

“Isn't every side of you snarky?”

“Nope. There's a little piece of me, right near the small of my back, that’s sweet like peach cobbler.” He shrugged. “At least someone told me that once.”

Olivia looked at him and smiled. Her smile made Rafael smile too. They smiled at each other for a few moments, speaking without words maybe though Rafael didn’t quite hear anything. The changing look on his face broke the spell.

“Someone’s going into the building.” He said.

Olivia turned back to the window. She put it down just a little more and grabbed her binoculars. It was one of the tenants, Brad Hardwick. There were six apartments in the building. During the investigation Olivia made sure she and Amaro talked to all the tenants to see if they heard or saw anything. She made a mental note of all their names and faces. Still, she watched him go all the way in and made sure no one followed.

“He lives there.” She said.

“Are you going to eat all of these fries?” Barba asked, pulling them out of the bag. He didn’t want them to cool off too much. Cold fries were sinful.

“No, I'm good. Are you really going to stay here with me all night?”

“I'm hoping that your gut calms down at a semi-reasonable hour and you decide to call it a night. If not, yes. I think we make good partners.”

“You might be singing a different tune after spending the night with me.” Olivia said.

“And what tune would that be, Detective Benson? I don’t tell many people this but I have amazing vocal range. Not to brag or anything.”

“Yeah you, brag…never.”

She reached into the box and ate a French fry. They were going to be there a while so Olivia relaxed a bit. She was ready to move if need be, but often times stakeouts were spent sitting in the car drinking coffee until your bladder was ready to explode. Two people in a cramped space with nowhere to go made for strange bedfellows. Tonight was her first time, and probably her last since this wasn’t his job, with Rafael Barba. She wondered just how strange it would get before it was over.

***


End file.
